


Mum said we have to play outside.

by Samsonet



Series: Leon & Hop in Wyndon [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:22:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22311703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samsonet/pseuds/Samsonet
Summary: Leon takes Hop sightseeing.
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Hop
Series: Leon & Hop in Wyndon [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605913
Comments: 10
Kudos: 112





	Mum said we have to play outside.

He wants to show Hop around Wyndon.

Going out in public takes preparation, though. When fans see Champion Leon, they rush to him, and they’re not always socially appropriate, either. He does _not_ want to risk exposing Hop to any of the particularly touchy ones.

So he’s not wearing his uniform today. Instead, he picks a black sweatshirt and trousers. He can’t keep his hair loose, so he ties it in a bun to hide its length. He can’t wear the crown snapback, so he’ll have to go bare-headed —

Oh, who is he kidding. He picks a different cap — this one white — and puts it on.

He steps into the living room, setting the champion cap on his brother’s head. “Hey. Have you ever been on a monorail?”

*

It turns out Hop expects the monorail to be just like the train from Wedgehurst. He gasps in surprise when the car rises and the city comes into view below them, and Leon has to laugh.

Hop’s sitting backwards, face almost pressed to the window. Leon is too big for that, so he’s sort of twisted halfway so he can watch the scenery and keep an eye on the digital display. It’s his job to make sure they stay in the safe side of the city, after all.

“Lee?”

“Yeah?”

“You really live here?”

“Hop, we literally just left my flat.”

“But how do you not get lost?”

“Oh, come on! I’m not that hopeless.”

The car passes over the dead-end street that Leon often finds himself in.

“...Charizard usually gets me where I need to go.”

Hop laughs, fogging up the glass.

As the rail goes, Leon points out landmarks. There’s the Hondew Building, there’s Sleet Street, there’s Rose Tower. And there…

“The stadium! That’s the stadium! You battle there, right?”

“Yep!”

“We gotta go see it!”

Leon forces a smile. He knew Hop would be excited to see Wyndon stadium for himself, but he had been hoping he could avoid actually going there. This was supposed to be a day off; he didn’t want to spend it at his workplace.

But Hop is giving him those big pleading eyes…

“Okay. We have to get off in three stops, then. Pay attention or we’ll miss it.”

Three stops later, Hop grabs his hand and pulls him out.

Leon spends the walk thinking about how he wants to play this. The public isn’t allowed to enter the stadium when there’s no match, and he’s not sure he wants to use his position to bend the rules. On the other hand, Hop did come all the way out here, and he should probably get to see _something_ that most fans can’t.

Would bringing him into the locker room be cool enough? He could get to experience what Leon does before a match, sit on the benches, maybe let Wooloo out to chew on things.

But as they enter the stadium, Hop doesn’t ask about any of that. Instead, he heads right into the gift shop.

Why? He has to know that Leon would give him any merch he wanted, if he asked.

Leon follows, curious, until Hop turns around and holds up a hand. “I don’t want you to see this. It’s a secret.”

“...okay, then.”

He stands by the doorway, pretending to look at his phone. Hop disappears behind the racks.

Minutes pass. A staff member comes up and asks if he needs help, but when they recognize him, they apologize and back off.

It’s incredibly awkward, but he supposes that’s just what happens when you’re the older brother of a tween.

“Hey! Give him back!”

That’s Hop’s voice. It strikes Leon like a knife to the chest.

“ _‘ey,_ ” an older boy’s voice mocks. “ _Gib ‘im back!_ ”

Leon rushes toward the voices.

He finds them in the back, by a rack of posters. Hop has his fists curled and his face scrunched, like he’s about to cry. There are two teenage boys standing in front of him. One of them is holding a pokeball just out of Hop’s reach.

“You’re the one who dropped the ball, mate. If you want your Wooloo back, you gotta ask nicely.”

“I — I — please, give me back my Pokémon.”

The other boy laughs. “Dude. He looks _so much_ like Leon.”

“He does! Do you think Leon looks like this when he begs?”

“At least Leon can _talk_ right, though. But hey, you’re cute, too, kid.”

Alright, that’s enough.

Leon steps forward, plucking Wooloo’s ball out of the boy’s hand. He hands it to Hop, putting an arm around his shoulder.

“You okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine…”

“Good.” He turns to the boys, glaring at them. “You two had better go. Now. And don’t come back.”

They stare at him. Leon can pinpoint the moment where they put two and two together and realize that the reason “this kid” looks so much like Leon is because _he’s Leon’s little brother_.

“Oh shit.”

And they run like hell.

“I’m sorry about that, Hop,” he says. “Most people here are nice, I promise. I’m sorry about the bad ones.”

Hop holds his Wooloo close to his heart. “Thanks for helping me, Lee.”

“Of course! That’s what big brothers are for, right?” He glances at the rack, noting that a couple tubes have been half-pulled out. “Now. You wanted to get something, right? Is it okay if I help you look for it?”

“Yeah… I wanted… I wanted to find a poster for number twenty-one.”

Twenty-one? Who would that be… Raihan is number 241, but if he’s who Hop meant, he would’ve just called him by name. And there aren’t any major leaguers who have two-digit uniform numbers...

“Um… who’s number twenty-one?”

“Soledad. From the minor league.”

“Ah.” Soledad is… a normal-type specialist, if he remembers right. “You’re a fan of her, then?”

“Gloria is.”

“Ooooh.” He wiggles his eyebrows, letting the motion do the teasing.

“ _Lee!_ ”

“Sorry! You’re so cute.”

With that, he starts searching methodically. The minor league is nowhere near as popular as the majors, but there’s gotta be some merch for them…

As it turns out, there is one singular poster with the number 21 on it. Hop smiles when he finds it, the trouble from earlier seemingly forgotten.

“How much is it?” Leon asks, pulling out his wallet.

“It’s okay. I’m gonna pay for it myself.”

“You have money?”

“Mum gave me some on my birthday.”

Hop’s birthday was months ago. Had he been saving it all this time, for this?

“Alright, I’m impressed. Go buy your friend her present. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

*

Hop does not ask to walk on the pitch. He’s not even interested in checking out the locker room. Instead, he darts about the lobby, taking deep breaths like the air itself is different. He reads every sign, looks at every screen.

Leon walks behind him, carrying the bag with the poster.

Eventually, his brother returns to his side. “I’m hungry.”

“Hello, Hungry. I’m Leon.”

Hop makes a noise that can only be described as verbal keysmashing.

“Ha! Sorry, sorry! Come on, let’s get something to eat. I know a place. Here, pull up ‘Z-Noodles’ on your phone.”

*

Z-Noodles is theoretically a fifteen-minute walk from the stadium, but Leon forgot that he has a much longer stride than Hop does. It’s okay. It just gives them more time together.

He keeps his arm around his brother’s shoulders. They don’t talk, but the silence is comfortable. If Leon had to guess, he’d say Hop is looking forward to the meal as much as he is himself.

“Lee?”

“Yeah?”

“Those guys, back in the store…”

“Oh, don’t think about them. They won’t bother you again, got it? Not as long as I’m around.”

“It’s not about that.” Hop’s face is pinched. He wrings his hands. “They were making fun of how I talk.”

“They’re just stupid, Hopscotch. They don’t like seeing anyone happy, so they’ll do whatever they can to pull you down. Don’t let them win.”

“But, Lee… _you_ don’t talk like I talk.”

Leon bites the inside of his cheek. He does not want to explain to Hop about Wyndon’s classism problem; it had been painful enough to grow up around it. Learning the quirks the Wyndon natives had, losing his Postwick accent…

“I mean… I dinnae ken abou’ tha’. It’s all fer show, you know? I turn it on an’ off.”

Hop stares up at him, eyes wide and unblinking.

Then he breaks down laughing.

“Dinnae— dinnae ken! Oh, Lee! Can you imagine talking like that during a match? Nobody would know what you were saying!”

“I guess I’d need you to translate, then!”

Hop is smiling again. That’s all Leon wants, really — all he can ask for. He’d do anything for that smile.

*

They’re digging into some _delicious_ ramen when Leon asks, “So, did you have fun today?”

“I did! It was lots of fun!”

“I’m glad.” Sluuuurp. “You know, if you lived here, you could see everything. You could come with me every day, and you’d get to do whatever you want.”

Hop looks down at his bowl. “Yeah.”

“I mean… I’m not trying to pressure you. It’s just… I miss you a lot, you know? And we never really have enough time to just… hang out.”

Hop sighs and mumbles something under his breath.

“What?”

“I wish I was Gloria’s brother.”

_What._

Leon goes back through everything that’s happened since his family arrived. Has he done something to hurt him? He didn’t mean to. He doesn’t even know what it would be. Or is this something Hop has been thinking about for a while, something that grew out of the years Leon was away?

Or...

“Hop… Is this about those boys picking on you because you look like me? I’m sorry about that—”

But Hop is shaking his head. “No, it’s not that. It’s— actually, I wish Gloria was _our_ sister. That would make everything so much easier.”

“What do you mean?”

“Then I wouldn’t have to choose between you.”

Is… is that how Hop thinks of it? Having to choose between his brother and his best friend, not being able to be there for both of them at once? In that case, it’s clear why he clings to Gloria. She’s a small girl with no family besides her mum, and she’s not even a trainer. There’s no way she can compete with Galar’s undefeated, beloved champion.

Hop must pity her.

“Hey,” Leon says, reaching over and taking Hop’s hands in his own. (Hop is so small, so delicate.) “You’re not choosing between us. You have us _both._ I’m going to be your brother no matter what. And I’m sure… I’m sure that Gloria will always be your friend, no matter what. It might be hard to keep up with both of us, but you can do it. I know you can.”

There. There’s that smile again. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” He squeezes Hop’s hands, then lets him go.

“But, you know, Lee…”

“Yeah?”

“If you endorsed us _both_ for the gym challenge, then me and Gloria could come to Wyndon together.”

Leon laughs, ruffling his brother’s hair. “I’ll consider it. Now, finish your food. There’s so much more I want to show you.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **Hop:** Are you growing a beard?  
>  **Leon:** I am! Do you like it?  
>  **Hop:** It looks ridiculous.  
>  **Hop:** I love it.


End file.
